The Ultimate Chocolate Chip cookies

I already know that people who know me will be surprised that I am posting this recipe. These cookies are somewhat famous – everyone loves them and they always turn out!

They are really easy to make and as with other recipes, I am adding couple of variations below the instructions.

First – couple of points that will make this recipe a success for you:

• Don’t touch the dough with your hands – only to flatten the cookies after you put them on a cookies sheet. The warmth of your hands will effect the ingredients
• Make sure the dough is very crumbly – add more flour if you need to. The less sticky and more crumbly the dough is, the chewier the cookies will be
• Let cookies cool down on the cookie sheet – don’t try to lift them up while they are still hot (unless you want to have a good excuse to eat one, then just do it and say : ooops – that one broke!
• If you want to keep your cookies soft, put them into a Ziploc bag while they are still warm and close the bag
• If you want to refresh cookies you made few days ago, use the Ziploc bag as well and put them into a microwave for 15-20 seconds and let the bag cool down for couple of minutes after

Here is the recipe:

Put into large mixing bowl:

1 cup of Golden Crisco

1-1/2 cups of dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon of vanilla

Beat with electric mixer until evenly blended to consistent texture

Add:

2 eggs

And beat until until eggs are totally blended in

Add:

2-1/2 to 2-3/4 cups of flour

1-1/2 teaspoons of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 to 1-1/2 cups of jumbo chocolate chips (the amount depends on how chocolatey you want your cookies to be

Now – this is important: with wooden spoon, mix all ingredients together until thoroughly blended. Again – do not use your hands to do this! This is the “hard labour”part of the recipe, but believe me – it is worth it!

Once all ingredients are mixed well, use tablespoon to start putting cookie dough on the baking sheet – using tablespoon will allow you to make them all a consistent size. Place dough on the sheet and gently press down with the back of the spoon. Place them about 1-1/2 inches apart since they will spread a bit during baking.

Bake at 365F for about 15 minutes – check bottom of the cookies after this time and if you see that it is turning golden, you can take them out of the oven. If you like them darker, leave in for another few minutes. Just a little note – the darker they are, the harder they will be.

This is my favourite date square recipe. I have had quite a few people tell me that they don’t really like date squares, because they are so sweet. I have added an item to my recipe that takes care of that: fresh chopped oranges.

Try this one and let me know how you liked it – it is likely to be a real hit with everyone!

1-1/2 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1-1/2 cups of quick oats

1-1/2 cups of brown sugar

1 cup of butter

Date fillling:

1 lb. of pitted dates, chopped

1/2 cup of hot water

1/4 cup of sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cup of orange juice

rind of 1/2 orange

one large orange – peeled and chopped into about 1/2 inch pieces

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Prepare filling first – combine dates, hot water, sugar, salt, orange juice,orange rind, lemon juice and orange pieces together in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until dates are very soft and all water is absorbed. Add vanilla and let cool.

Stir flour and baking soda together, add to oats and brown sugar and mix well. Work in butter with fork until mixture is crumbly. Spread 1/2 of the mixture in bottom of greased 8″square pan and pat down. Cover with cold date filling. Pat remaining mixture on top. Bake in moderate oven (350F) for about 30 minutes.

For thinner date squares, use a larger pan – 9″x 13″.